This invention relates generally to cartons for packaging articles such as cigarettes, and more particularly to a carton having indicia printed thereon to facilitate adjustment of the dimensions of the blanks used to form the cartons, or of the forming machinery on which such cartons may be erected.
Folded paperboard cartons for packaging articles such as cigarettes are well known in the art. An example of a “flip-top” style carton is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,478. Such cartons are typically manufactured in the form of a flat blank that is printed, cut and scored and then shipped in quantities in flat condition to the manufacturing point of the cigarettes. There, the carton blanks are loaded into high-speed carton forming machinery in which each carton blank is folded, loaded with contents and glued, resulting in filled, completed packages.
For both functional and aesthetic reasons it is important that the cartons be precisely formed. The cartons are typically printed with advertising, informational or aesthetic graphics that can be misaligned and unattractive on the completed package. Additionally, if the carton blanks are erected in a misaligned manner, they may create difficulty in moving the cartons through the machine, or in handling and stacking the completed packages. For these reasons, the blank must be carefully sized, and the packaging machinery is capable of fine adjustment that can make changes to the extent to which panels are folded or moved as they pass through the machine.
Achieving proper panel dimensions or machine adjustment can be a tedious procedure. To this end, it is known to use a test blank having lines or other marks located along the edges of the blank so that when the test blank is formed into a carton, the marks will be aligned if the carton is properly formed. If not, then the blank or machine can be adjusted. However, if determination of the extent of misalignment can be made more efficient and precise, then blank or machine adjustment can be made more quickly and with fewer iterations.